Coffee start-up looks to tackle the European market

Cafepod, a start-up business that specialises in selling coffee capsules, is seeking a £1.5m investment in order to expand into European markets.

The Putney-based firm, whose main competitors are coffee giants Nespresso, have already sounded out where Cafepod is heading to once the £1.5m is raised.

‘‘The real opportunity for us lies in Western Europe. Nespresso sales on the Continent are worth around $5bn a year,’’ said Peter Grainger, co-founder of Cafepod.

Coffee is an extremely lucrative market in the UK and in Europe. According to a report published in February, coffee sales are up 36.6 per cent over the past four years in comparison with tea which saw growth of 14.6 per cent.

UK coffee tastes have changed. The nation of tea drinkers is now a nation of coffee drinkers, and the Brits like their coffee strong,’’ continued Grainger.

The coffee firm are looking for additional funding, something which has recently been very hard to find for Grainger and his firm.

‘‘There is a lot of talk from Government and the banks about lending initiatives for small businesses and start-ups but on the streets of business this doesn’t exist,’’ finished Grainger.

‘‘With crowdfunding, you end up with a pool of passionate, committed brand ambassadors,’’ said Hadfield. One way that Cafepod could gain more investment is through Crowdcube, where small businesses can put up a percentage of its equity in return for capital.